Voltage regulator

ABSTRACT

A voltage regulator for providing power to a system includes feedforward circuitry receiving a signal from the system indicating the current needed by the system, and the feedforward circuitry causes the voltage regulator to change the voltage regulator output current in response to the signal from the system.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/806,305, filed Mar. 28, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Voltage regulators are circuits designed to automatically maintain a constant output voltage. Some voltage regulators operate in a linear mode, and some operate in a switching mode (in which at least one element acts as an on/off switch). Typically, voltage regulators cannot respond instantaneously to a sudden change in load current. Output capacitors are commonly used to reduce ripple and to help reduce output voltage transients resulting from sudden changes in load current.

Many systems use voltage regulator output capacitors that have a ceramic dielectric. These types of capacitors, with ceramic layers and metal electrodes, are inherently piezoelectric. As a result, they may vibrate audibly if there are periodic voltage changes that are within the human audible frequency range (20 Hz-20 KHz). For example, liquid crystal displays used for computer monitors and televisions may be refreshed at 240 times per second, and 3D displays may be refreshed at twice that rate. Each refresh cycle may require a large change in power supply current, which may cause a voltage transient at the voltage regulator output capacitors. For voltage regulators driving displays or other systems with periodic load current changes, objectionable audible noise may be generated by the output capacitors. There is a general need for reducing voltage transients at the output of voltage regulators and in particular, a need for reducing audible noise from the output capacitors of voltage regulators.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of a prior-art voltage regulator.

FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are timing diagrams illustrating current, voltage, and signal waveforms in the voltage regulator of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an example embodiment of an improved voltage regulator.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D are timing diagrams illustrating signal and voltage waveforms in the voltage regulator of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating additional detail for an example embodiment of part of the voltage regulator of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating additional detail for an example embodiment of part of the voltage regulator of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an example embodiment of a method for reducing periodic output voltage ripple in a voltage regulator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a prior art voltage regulator 100 for providing power to a load 108. The load 108 is depicted as a resistor, but in general the load 108 may be a system with varying current demands. The illustrated voltage regulator 100 (simplified to facilitate illustration and explanation) includes a DC-DC converter 102 and feedback circuitry 104. The DC-DC converter 102 converts power at an input voltage V_(IN) to power at an output voltage V_(OUT). The input voltage V_(IN) may be greater than the output voltage V_(OUT) or the output voltage V_(OUT) may be greater than the input voltage V_(IN). The DC-DC converter 102 may be a linear circuit, or it may be a switching circuit. The feedback circuit 104 compares the output voltage V_(OUT) to a reference voltage V_(REF) and generates a feedback signal S_(FB) that causes the DC-DC converter 102 to generate more or less current to maintain a constant output voltage V_(OUT). An output capacitor 106 is essential for switching DC-DC converters. For all types of DC-DC converters, the output capacitor 106 helps reduce ripple on the output voltage, and also helps reduce output voltage transients resulting from sudden changes in load current I_(LOAD).

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate various example waveforms associated with the example voltage regulator 100 of FIG. 1. In the example of FIG. 2A, the current i_(LOAD) to the system 108 varies periodically, suddenly increasing at times t₁ and t₃, and suddenly decreasing at times t₂ and t₄.

In FIG. 2B, the voltage regulator 100 of FIG. 1 cannot respond instantaneously to the load current changes depicted in FIG. 2A. When the load current i_(LOAD) increases (t₁, t₃), the current provided by the DC-DC converter 102 (i_(OUT)) is insufficient, and the output voltage V_(OUT) starts to decrease as the output capacitor 106 starts to discharge. It takes a finite amount of time for the closed-loop voltage regulator system to respond and restore the output voltage V_(OUT) back to the desired voltage, so negative voltage transients are generated on the output voltage V_(OUT) at times t₁ and t₃. Likewise, when the load current i_(LOAD) decreases (t₂, t₄), the DC-DC converter 102 provides more current (i_(OUT)) than the load 110 requires, and the output voltage V_(OUT) starts to increase as the capacitor 106 starts to charge. Again, it takes a finite amount of time for the closed-loop voltage regulator system to respond, and positive voltage transients are generated on the output voltage V_(OUT) at times t₂ and t₄. If the voltage transients on V_(OUT) are sufficiently large, and if the frequency of the voltage transients is within the human auditory band, the output capacitor 106 may generate objectionable auditory noise.

In FIG. 1, the feedback signal S_(FB) controls the current output of the DC-DC converter 102. In FIG. 2C, at times t₁ and t₃, the closed-loop voltage regulator response time causes the feedback signal S_(FB) to slowly increase to a higher level to increase i_(OUT) (the current output of the DC-DC converter 102), and at times t₂ and t₄, the voltage regulator closed-loop response time causes the feedback signal S_(FB) to slowly decrease to a lower level to decrease i_(OUT).

FIG. 3 illustrates an example embodiment of an improved voltage regulator 300, which is the voltage regulator 100 of FIG. 1 with additional feedforward circuitry added. Signal S_(LOAD) is a signal from the system 108 being powered by the voltage regulator 300, indicating the current required by the system 108. More specifically, signal S_(LOAD) indicates that the system 108 will require a change in current, thereby allowing the voltage regulator 300 to anticipate a sudden change in load current. The feedforward circuit 302 uses the signal S_(LOAD) to generate a feedforward signal S_(FF) that is coupled to the feedback signal S_(FB). The feedforward circuit 302 also receives the voltage regulator output voltage V_(OUT). The feedforward circuit 302 uses V_(OUT) and the signal S_(LOAD) to generate a feedforward voltage output V_(FF). The feedforward signal S_(FF) has a variable amplitude, and the amplitude of the feedforward signal S_(FF) is the amplitude of the feedforward voltage output V_(FF). In FIG. 3, the modified feedback signal S_(FB) is the sum of the output of the feedback circuitry 104 (as illustrated in FIG. 2C) and the feedforward signal S_(FF). The signals S_(LOAD), S_(FF), the contribution of S_(FF) to S_(FB), and the resulting modified S_(FB) are illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4D.

Typically, a voltage regulator cannot anticipate that load current is about to change. The signal S_(LOAD) and the feedforward circuit 302 enable the voltage regulator 300 to anticipate a current change slightly before there is sufficient current change to be sensed in a feedback loop, and slightly before there is any transient on the output voltage V_(OUT) to be sensed. The feedforward signal S_(FF) modifies the feedback signal S_(FB) so that instead of a relatively slow closed-loop response as in FIG. 2C, the modified feedback signal S_(FB) responds instantly (but briefly) to signal S_(LOAD.) The feedforward Signal S_(FF) adds a spike (a step in voltage followed by a decay) to the feedback signal S_(FB) immediately after each step change in the signal S_(LOAD). In the example of FIG. 3, the feedforward signal S_(FF) is capacitively coupled to the feedback signal S_(FB), but capacitive coupling is not required. The capacitive coupling is just one example of a way to provide a brief signal after each step in signal S_(LOAD). When the signal S_(LOAD) is periodic, the feedforward circuit 302 can adjust the amplitude of the feedforward signal S_(FF) (the amplitude of the feedforward signal S_(FF) is the amplitude of the feedforward voltage output V_(FF)) over time so that corresponding periodic voltage transients on the output voltage V_(OUT) are essentially eliminated.

In FIG. 4A, the signal S_(LOAD) is a signal from the system 108 being powered by the voltage regulator 300. The signal S_(LOAD) is a signal corresponding to a changing system current, for example a signal in a controller that will change a state of the system 108. For example, S_(LOAD) may be a display refresh signal or a signal for periodic pulse-width-modulated display back-lighting. In the example of FIG. 4A, when S_(LOAD) is high, load current i_(LOAD) is high, and when S_(LOAD) is low, load current i_(LOAD) is low.

In FIG. 4B, the feedforward signal S_(FF) is a signal with the same timing as the load signal S_(LOAD) but with a variable amplitude (the amplitude of the feedforward signal S_(FF) is the amplitude of the feedforward voltage output V_(FF)). For the example of FIG. 3, the modified feedback signal S_(FB) is the sum of the output of the feedback circuitry 104 (as illustrated in FIG. 2C) and the capacitively coupled feedforward signal S_(FF).

In FIG. 4C, signal S_(FB)(S_(FF)) is the contribution of the feedforward signal S_(FF) to the modified feedback signal S_(FB). S_(FB)(S_(FF)) adds a positive step to the feedback signal S_(FB) at times t₁ and t₃, and each step decays as determined by a resistor 304 and capacitor 306. S_(FB)(S_(FF)) adds a negative step to the feedback signal S_(FB) at times t₂ and t₄, and each step decays as determined by the resistor 304 and capacitor 306. Again, capacitive coupling is just one example of a way to implement a brief response to each step in V_(LOAD). The variable amplitude of the steps is the amplitude of the feedforward voltage output V_(FF) from the feedforward circuit 302.

FIG. 4D illustrates the feedback signal S_(FB) when the decaying steps from the feedforward signal S_(FF) are added to the output of the feedback circuit 104 (as illustrated in FIG. 2C). The resulting feedback signal S_(FB) has essentially instantaneous rise and fall times. The rapid rise and fall times of the feedback signal S_(FB) cause the DC-DC converter 102 to respond immediately to load current changes at times t₁, t₂, t₃, and t₄, in contrast to the slower closed-loop response times illustrated in FIG. 2C. Effectively, the feedforward circuit 302 causes the DC-DC converter circuit 102 to respond to a load current change before there is any change on the output voltage V_(OUT), and the periodic voltage transients on V_(OUT) resulting from the periodic load current changes are essentially eliminated. As a result of eliminating the periodic voltage transients on V_(OUT), audible noise from the output capacitor 106 is eliminated.

FIG. 5 illustrates additional detail for an example embodiment of the voltage regulator 300 of FIG. 3, using a switching DC-DC converter 502. In FIG. 5, the DC-DC converter 502 illustrates one possible example of the DC-DC converter 102 of FIG. 3. The DC-DC converter 502 is an example of a switching DC-DC boost converter (the output voltage V_(OUT) is higher than the input voltage V_(IN)). The DC-DC converter 502 comprises an inductor 504, an electronic switch (transistor) 506, and a diode 508. An output capacitor 510 is an essential energy storage component of the DC-DC conversion process, and output capacitor 510 helps reduce output voltage transients.

When the switch 506 is open, current flows from the input V_(IN) and from stored energy in the inductor 504 into the load 512 and into the output capacitor 510. When the switch 506 is closed, energy is stored in the inductor 504, and current to the load 512 flows from stored energy in the output capacitor 510. The example voltage regulator 500 uses feedback from the output voltage V_(OUT) to regulate the output voltage. An amplifier 514 compares the output voltage V_(OUT) to a reference voltage V_(REF). A compensation network 516 ensures stability for the closed-loop voltage regulation system. Note that many commercially available voltage regulators have an external connection (called VCOMP) for a compensation network. Therefore, the circuits of FIG. 3 or 5 may be implemented as an external circuit for commercially available integrated circuits, or the circuits of FIG. 3 or 5 may be integrated. A pulse-width-modulation (PWM) circuit 518 controls the duty cycle of the switch 506 to maintain a constant output voltage. When the duty cycle increases (that is, when the switch 506 is closed for a longer portion of each switching cycle), then more current is provided to the load 512 during each switching cycle. When the duty cycle decreases, then less current is provided to the load 512 during each switching cycle. If the current required by the load changes, it takes a finite amount of time for the output voltage V_(OUT) to change, and for the amplifier 514 to sense the output voltage change, and for the PWM circuit 518 to change the duty cycle of the switch 506 to restore the output voltage V_(OUT) to the target voltage.

There are many variations in switching DC-DC converter designs. The diode 506 may be replaced by another electronic switch. For step-down DC-DC converters, the input voltage V_(IN) is higher than the output voltage V_(OUT), and the switch(s) are between the input voltage and the inductor. The on-time or off-time of the switch(s) may be constant and the switching frequency may be varied. Both the duty cycle and the switching frequency of the switch(s) may be varied. There may be multiple feedback loops. The particular circuit of FIG. 5 is just one example of a voltage regulator using just one example of a switching DC-DC converter for purposes of illustration. The invention applies equally to voltage regulators using other types of DC-DC converters and the invention applies equally to linear voltage regulators.

FIG. 6 illustrates additional detail of an example embodiment of the feedforward circuit 302 illustrated in FIG. 3. First, note that at the output, the feedforward signal S_(FF), the feedforward voltage output V_(FF), the resistor 304, and the capacitor 306 are as illustrated in FIG. 3. In FIG. 6, an inverter 624 inverts the load signal S_(LOAD). A transistor switch 622, controlled by the signal inverted S_(LOAD), generates a step in the feedforward signal S_(FF) at each transition of the signal inverted S_(LOAD), and each step in the feedforward signal S_(FF) decays as determined by resistance 304 and capacitance 306. The magnitude of each step in the feedforward signal S_(FF) is the magnitude of the feedforward voltage output V_(FF), as controlled by an amplifier 616. At the input stage, a capacitor 602 and a resistor 604 form a high-pass filter. The output of the high-pass filter is gated by a transistor 610. Transistor 610 grounds the output of the high-pass filter except for a brief time after a high-to-low transition of signal inverted S_(LOAD). That is, with a capacitor 606 and a resistor 608, a high-to-low transition of signal inverted S_(LOAD) generates a spike (a step in voltage followed by a decay) that causes transistor 610 to momentarily turn off, which allows the output of the high-pass filter to pass to a resistor 612. The amplifier 616, a capacitor 614, and the resistor 612 form an integrator. In essence, the integrator integrates AC transitions of V_(OUT) that occur just after each high-to-low transition of signal inverted S_(LOAD) (FIG. 4A, t₁, t₃).The integrator adjusts the feedforward voltage output V_(FF) to drive the AC transitions of V_(OUT) (occurring just after each high-to-low transition of inverted S_(LOAD)) to zero. Note that the circuit as illustrated adjusts the feedforward voltage output V_(FF) only in response to high-to-low transitions of the signal inverted S_(LOAD), assuming that the voltage transients on V_(OUT) (FIG. 2B) are symmetrical. If for some reason the rises and drops in signal inverted S_(LOAD) are asymmetrical, then a second feedforward circuit as in the feedforward circuit 302 may be added for the low-to-high transitions. Amplifier 618 and diode 620 are optional depending on the types of amplifiers being used. In one specific embodiment, bipolar amplifiers are used, so amplifier 618 and diode 620 are needed to prevent negative values of V₂.

Note that the circuit 302 has both feedforward and feedback characteristics. Typically, a feedforward control circuit controls an output independently from changes in the output. The circuit 302 has a feedforward characteristic in that it controls the output V_(OUT) in response to an external signal S_(LOAD) that is independent of changes in the output V_(OUT). The circuit 302 also includes a feedback characteristic in that changes in the output V_(OUT) are used to adjust the amplitude of the feedforward signal S_(FF).

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method 700. At step 702, a voltage regulator receives a load signal from a load being powered by the voltage regulator. At step 704, the voltage regulator controls the output current of the voltage regulator in response to the output voltage of the voltage regulator and in response to the load signal. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A voltage regulator for providing power to a system, comprising: feedforward circuitry adapted to receive a load signal, from the system, indicating the current needed by the system; the feedforward circuitry adapted to generate a control signal in response to the load signal; and the voltage regulator adapted to change the voltage regulator output current in response to the control signal from the feedforward circuitry.
 2. The voltage regulator of claim 1, further comprising: output feedback circuitry; and the voltage regulator adapted to change the voltage regulator output current partially in response to the output feedback circuitry and partially in response to the control signal from the feedforward circuitry.
 3. The voltage regulator of claim 2, where the control signal from the feedforward circuitry is a brief signal occurring immediately after a voltage step in the load signal.
 4. The voltage regulator of claim 3, where the control signal from the feedforward circuitry is capacitively coupled to an output signal from the output feedback circuitry.
 5. The voltage regulator of claim 1, where the feedforward circuitry causes the voltage regulator to instantaneously change the output current of the voltage regulator in response to an instantaneous change in current to the system.
 6. The voltage regulator of claim 1, where the load signal is periodic.
 7. The voltage regulator of claim 6, where the frequency of the load signal is within the human auditory frequency range.
 8. The voltage regulator of claim 1, where the voltage regulator is linear.
 9. The voltage regulator of claim 1, where the voltage regulator is a switching voltage regulator.
 10. The voltage regulator of claim 1, where the feedforward circuitry causes the voltage regulator to change the voltage regulator output current for a short period of time after the load signal indicates a sudden change in system current.
 11. The voltage regulator of claim 1, where the feedforward circuitry uses transient voltages on the output voltage of the voltage regulator to determine the magnitude of the control signal from the feedforward circuitry.
 12. A voltage regulator for providing power to a system, comprising: at least one switch; switch control circuitry for controlling the switch; output feedback circuitry; feedforward circuitry adapted to receive a load signal, from the system, indicating the current needed by the system; and the switch control circuitry being controlled by the feedforward circuitry and by the output feedback circuitry.
 13. The voltage regulator of claim 12, where the feedforward circuitry sends a signal to the switch control circuitry to instantaneously change the voltage regulator output current in response to the load signal.
 14. The voltage regulator of claim 13, where the signal from the feedforward circuitry to the switch control circuitry is a brief voltage spike immediately following a step in voltage in the load signal.
 15. The voltage regulator of claim 14, where the signal from the feedforward circuitry to the switch control circuitry is capacitively coupled to a signal from the output feedback circuitry to the switch control circuitry.
 16. The voltage regulator of claim 13, where the feedforward circuitry receives the voltage regulator output voltage, and uses transients on the regulator output voltage to control the magnitude of the signal from the feedforward circuitry to the switch control circuitry.
 17. A method, comprising: receiving, by a voltage regulator, a load signal from a system being powered by the voltage regulator; and controlling, by the voltage regulator, the output current of the voltage regulator, in response to the output voltage of the voltage regulator and in response to the load signal.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: generating, by a feedforward circuit, a signal to control the output current of the voltage regulator, in response to the load signal.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: capacitively coupling the signal from the feedforward circuit to a signal from an output voltage feedback circuit.
 20. The method of claim 17, further comprising: generating, by the feedforward circuit, the signal to control the output current, such that the timing of the signal to control the output current is determined by the load signal and the magnitude of the signal to control the output current is determined by transients on the output voltage of the voltage regulator. 